WeedLife News Network

It’s no secret that the cannabis industry is bringing in all kinds of money for the industry, but now, there are official numbers backing it up. Even without full legalization, legal cannabis is reportedly poised to bring in almost $100 billion to the US economy in 2021. 

This is up 30 percent from last year, and the projected number for 2025 is $169 billion. According to the MJBizDaily analysis, this was done by looking at similar industries and using a standard multiplier of 3.5 on projections of sales, and it includes agriculture, manufacturing and retail activity. 

When examined closely across the board, this shows what the future of cannabis will look like and how it will be able to continue to benefit the US economy as the years go on. In this particular instance, the analysts predicted that for every $1 spent by consumers and patients in the retail and medical markets, an additional $2.50 gets put back into the economy. This also has a major impact on local economies throughout the country. 

This is the case because of the daily needs of workers in the industry, including spending on housing, transportation, food, and entertainment. By adding more jobs to the legal and regulated cannabis industry, cannabis keeps on giving back and helping to boost the local, state, and national economies. 

Additionally, the taxes generated from selling recreational and medical cannabis also puts hundreds of millions of dollars into the economy via taxes, which in turn go back to fund local government and state activities. How those tax dollars are funneled back into the local area varies state to state, but some popular uses are funding schools, roads, and addiction treatment programs. 

Data recently released by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency shows that federal law enforcement agents and their state and local partners seized more than 4.5 million marijuana plants in 2020, a figure that is up nearly 20% over 2019. The annual DEA report also shows that federal law enforcement officers made nearly 5,000 cannabis-related arrests in 2020, a year wracked by the social and economic fallout of the Covid-19 pandemic.

According to the data published in the DEA’s yearly Domestic Cannabis Eradication/Suppression Program Statistical Report, approximately 4.54 million cannabis plants were seized and eradicated in 2020, up from about 4 million plants in 2019. The totals include more than 3.7 million cannabis plants seized from 4,151 outdoor grow sites and more than 830,000 plants confiscated from 1,286 indoor cultivation operations.

“In 2020, the DEA continued its nationwide cannabis eradication efforts, providing resources to support the 127 state and local law enforcement agencies that actively participate in the program,” the agency wrote on its website. “This assistance allows the enhancement of already aggressive eradication enforcement activities throughout the nation.”

The data in the DEA report also showed that nearly 5,000 arrests for federal marijuana-related offenses were made by law enforcement officers in 2020. That figure is up slightly over 2019 when 4,718 arrests for federal marijuana crimes were made by agents. 

California saw the largest percentage of both arrests and confiscated cannabis plants in the country, a trend that continues from previous years. In 2020, approximately 82% of the seized cannabis plants and 40% of the marijuana-related arrests nationwide occurred in California. Nationwide, agents seized more than $41 million in assets related to the DEA’s marijuana eradication efforts in 2020.

Cannabis business owners seeking to sell their operations on the secondary market are sitting in the catbird seat, experts say. Multistate operators wishing to expand their footprints are fueling demand, as are investors entering the market anticipating federal marijuana reform.

“With $1.6 billion in capital raised in January alone, public cannabis companies now have a lot of cash on their books, so I think we are going to see a lot of mergers and acquisitions this year,” said Charles Alovisetti, a partner at Denver-based cannabis law firm Vicente Sederberg.

Will Marijuana Stocks Continue To Rise This Month?

California’s Siskiyou County has identified a novel way to evaporate the growing number of illegal cannabis farms sprouting up in a state that seems to forever be on the brink of drought: restrict where water trucks can go.

After multiple failed attempts to legalise medical marijuana, this bill may finally get over the line – and soon.

Access to medical cannabis in Alabama is extremely limited. “Carly’s Law”, which was passed in 2014, permitted the University of Alabama at Birmingham to provide CBD oil to children with debilitating seizures as part of a clinical study. In 2016, “Leni’s Law” was passed to provide an affirmative defence to patients possessing CBD to treat certain debilitating conditions.

Other legislation has been introduced over the years such as HB 243, which wasn’t successful. Alabama’s House has been seen as the place where cannabis legislation goes to die, until now.

Last week, Members approved Senate Bill 46 with a 68 to 34 vote. SB46, which would establish the Compassion Act,  had already passed muster in the Senate with little fuss.

The wide-ranging legislation would also among other things establish the Alabama Medical Cannabis Commission. It also clearly notes the legislation is not to provide for or enable recreational use of marijuana in the State.

A bill that would legalize marijuana for recreational use in Minnesota is headed to the House floor for the first time.

Spearheaded by House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler, marijuana legalization has made its way through various legislative committees in past years, but it has yet to advance to a vote in the full chamber.

The bill passed the House Ways and Means Committee Friday – the 12th House committee it has passed during this session.

It would allow adults age 21 and older to buy and possess marijuana in Minnesota. Adults would be allowed to possess up to two ounces of marijuana in public and ten pounds in their homes under the bill.

The bill ultimately passed the committee 16-10. While the legislation is likely to pass the Democrat-controlled House, it faces further challenges in the Senate. Top GOP leadership, including Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka, have opposed the legislation in years past.

Colorado Gov. Jared Polis signed a bill on Wednesday that would expand access to medical cannabis for school children in need by removing obstacles to its administration.

The new legislation, SB 21-056, removes the discretion from school principals to set policies that regulate storing and administering cannabis-based medicines.

Photo by Green Chameleon via Unsplash

The bill places the responsibility on principals to “create a written treatment plan for the administration of cannabis-based medicine and on school boards to adopt policies regarding actual administration.”

School boards will be called upon to create guidelines on how cannabis medicines should be stored.

Mario B. Williams has never been one to shy away from a fight. As head of NDH Law, the Atlanta-based attorney has worked on behalf of jail inmates, immigrants, the mentally disabled and minorities who have won settlements against police agencies,. 

According to the Vermont Agency of Agriculture, Farms, and Markets (AAFM), all hemp products containing Delta 8 THC are illegal, a change that went into effect on April 23 of this year.

The Vermont AAFM sent out an email to all registered hemp farmers to inform them of the new statute. As of now, Vermont is one of 12 states that have banned the production of Delta 8 THC products. The other states are: Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Delaware, Idaho, Iowa, Mississippi, Montana, Rhode Island, and Utah.

Are you familiar with the THC that’s not as psychoactive as delta-9, but with the same general medical benefits? Delta-8 is gaining popularity now, and we’re committed to bringing you the best products available. Mail ban or not, we’ve got tons of awesome products, like delta 8 syringes, so check out these great delta-8 THC deals, and get started with the ‘other’ THC.

Vermont’s new legislation

On their website, the agency even acknowledged that hemp plants naturally produce Delta 8 THC. However, because it’s only present in trace amounts, products that are high in Delta 8 are usually made through a method known as isomerization, which synthetically converts CBD to THC.

The Vermont Hemp Rules state that, “A processor shall not use synthetic cannabinoids in the production of any hemp product or hemp-infused product”. With this new ruling, the manufacturing, labeling, or sale of any Delta-8 product would violate Vermont state law. As with any other Schedule 1 narcotic, anyone caught producing, distributing, or possessing Delta 8 products will face criminal charges.

The ruling has the statewide Delta 8 THC industry up in arms and scrambling to figure out what they will do when such a large part of their inventory is suddenly prohibited. This update is expected to negatively impact their newly established revenues in a major way.

An Australian-based company with an exclusive licence to a variety of rare cannabis cultivars is putting its plants to the test.

Neurotech International (NTI) has begun a study to assess the safety and tolerability of its products to treat symptoms associated with autism in children.

In a release, the company reported it is currently working on a Phase I/II open label clinical study in 20 children aged five to 17 who have Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD).

According to the release, the study marks the first time that full-spectrum cannabis extract containing less than 0.3 per cent THC will be assessed in children with ASD.

Professor Michael Fahey, head of paediatric neurology at Monash Children’s Hospital, is supervising the trials, which will measure the impact that cannabis has on things such as focus, agitation, irritability and general quality of life, over 16 weeks.

Idaho has become the last state to legalize industrial hemp, more than two years after the passage of the Agriculture Improvement Act of 2018 (2018 Farm Bill) legalized it as a commodity crop.

On April 16, Idaho Gov. Brad Little signed House Bill 126 into law, legalizing the production, processing, research and transportation of industrial hemp with up to 0.3% tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) in the state, beginning with the spring 2022 growing season, the legislation states.

Since the passage of the Agricultural Act of 2014 (2014 Farm Bill) and the 2018 Farm Bill, the conversation of hemp legalization in Idaho has been an ongoing debate. The state focused on how it could create a bill that would provide Idaho farmers the opportunity to grow hemp while still maintaining an enforceable drug policy, said Braden Jensen, the deputy director of governmental affairs and national affairs coordinator at the Idaho Farm Bureau Federation, a grassroots organization affiliated with the American Farm Bureau Federation that advocates for the agricultural community.

"The state wanted to be methodical, careful and cautious as they went forward with legalization," he said. “That was kind of the balance that attempted to be struck with the bill that passed this year, and we have seen different variations of the bill over time that have tried to have that appropriate balance."

Compared to other state's hemp laws, Jensen said the bill is very "narrowly tailored," as it only applies to licensed growers and processors. He also notes that the sale of hemp products containing any amount of THC to Idaho consumers is still prohibited, as was the case before the law passed.

Cannabis has been a known sedative for centuries, thanks to its relaxing properties.

Sleep. It’s so vital for health and wellness, yet so many of us struggle with it.

Getting a good night’s rest isn’t as easy as you think, at least for a great deal of the population. If you’re between the age of 18 to 64, you need 7 up to 9 hours of good sleep each night. Yet, a surprising 35.2% of American adults sleep less than 7 hours a night while 10-30% of adults report that they struggle with chronic insomnia.

A night of deep sleep is essential to feeling great the next day, and it also helps prevent a host of health problems down the line. It’s crucial for helping the body to repair internally, prevent sickness, keep the immune system up, prevent weight gain… the list goes on.

Photo by Acharaporn Kamornboonyarush via Pexels

The Florida State Boxing Commission has made a major change to its policy regarding cannabis.

At a meeting Tuesday, the commission voted to essentially eliminate marijuana from its prohibited drug list, Florida Department of Business and Professional Regulation spokesperson Patrick Fargason told ESPN on Tuesday. Previously in Florida, even trace amounts of cannabis found in a fighter's system would lead to a suspension, fine and a victory getting overturned.

"We're not testing for it," Fargason said. "We're not doing anything with it -- period."

The change was based on a recommendation from the Association of Boxing Commissions (ABC) medical advisory committee, as well as the UFC's anti-doping policy run by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), Fargason said. He added that if a fighter is visibly impaired on fight night, the commission would take action. But Florida will no longer test for cannabis with regards combat sports competition.

Florida's new rule would affect boxers and MMA fighters competing in the state. UFC 261 took place April 24 in Jacksonville, Florida, and there were no suspensions for cannabis on that card, Fargason said. The rule voted on Tuesday will go into effect immediately, he said.

There is perhaps no cannabinoid more misunderstood than cannabinol, or CBN as it is better known.

Once thought to be the primary source of the psychoactive effects associated with marijuana, CBN has an ancient tie to cannabis’ first concentrate, hashish, and is now being explored and isolated to provide relief for conditions like insomnia.

The Mysteries of Indian Hemp

When the United Kingdom assumed control over India in the mid-1850s, it was inevitable that the subjects of the British crown would eventually encounter and consume cannabis in one of the plants primal regions of cultivation.

The nation’s subsequent interest and concern in the plant’s resinous products led to the formation of the Indian Hemp Drugs Commission in 1893. This commission represents the first major Western attempt at understanding cannabis, the humble beginnings of the path that with current social tolerance allowing for greater research and access, we now see being being freshly paved into an ultra-modern freeway.

In the years following the commission, some scientists were intrigued enough to pry apart the mysteries of “Indian Hemp.” CBN was the first cannabinoid successfully isolated from charas (otherwise known as hand-rubbed hashish) by British researchers in 1896 and, in 1933, was the first cannabinoid to have its chemical structure successfully elucidated.

Members of the Kansas House of Representatives voted to approve a bill on Thursday that would legalize the medicinal use of cannabis. The measure, Senate Bill 158 (SB 158), was passed in the House by a vote of 79 to 42.

The Kansas Senate approved SB 158 on March 25 and then sent the measure to the House, where it was amended by lawmakers. The bill will now head back to the upper chamber so that senators can consider the changes made in the House.

“The state of Kansas is finally catching up to the twenty-first century,” said Rep. Louis Ruiz, the ranking Democrat on the House Federal and State Affairs Committee. “Kansans need to have access to all possible health options available to them, especially if they are experiencing chronic illnesses. This bill will do exactly that. Many of our neighboring states have passed similar legislation. It’s time for us to do the same.”

Under SB 158, registered patients and caregivers would be permitted to buy up to a 90-day supply of medicinal cannabis products at a time. Patients would not be permitted to smoke or vape medical marijuana. The specific amount of cannabis would be determined by state officials, who would be tasked with drafting the rules and regulations for the medical marijuana program by July 1, 2023.

In the US state of Massachusetts, protected farmland can now be utilised for growing cannabis.

Massachusetts’ Agricultural Preservation Restriction (APR) Program, established in the 1970’s, is a voluntary program that pays owners of farmland the difference between the “fair market value” and the “agricultural value” of their land in exchange for a permanent deed restriction protecting it for future agricultural use. This prevents it from being built on by development companies for non-agricultural purposes.

Landowners with at least five acres of land with suitable soils that have been in agricultural production for the last two years can apply for the program – and there are restrictions as to what can be grown on the land from the point of being accepted.

These past two years have been an unprecedented whirlwind to say the least.

Many mothers were forced to adjust to the pandemic’s new normal, which includes juggling work, homeschooling, and parental care, without having the ability to destress outside the home. 

This Mother’s Day, you deserve to be pampered like the queen you are. 

Do a D.I.Y home spa treatment, light some candles, unwind with your favorite strain or tasty CBD gummy.

We picked out some of the best Mother’s Day gifts that will make this holiday a day to remember for you, or another mother in your life.